Dryer Vent Cleaning in Ames, IA
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Cold vents catch more lint than warm ones
Your dryer pushes out warm, damp air, and that air has to travel through a vent that sits in cold space most of the year. From October through May, that vent is often as cold as the outside air. The warm air cools fast against those walls, and when it cools, the moisture in it doesn't just vanish. It settles on the lint passing through, and wet lint sticks where dry lint would have blown clear on through to the outside.
Each load adds a little more, and it builds along the walls of the vent instead of leaving with the air. A vent that's narrowing this way pushes the dryer to work harder, and it also gives a heat source something to catch on inside a duct that's supposed to be carrying air, not holding onto anything.
- 14°F
- the average winter night, and cold vents catch damp lint
- 8 months
- October through May, the vent stays cold
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How often should a dryer vent be cleaned?
- Once a year is the standard rule. Lint builds up inside the vent run even if you clean the lint screen every load, because the screen never catches all of it. A house that runs the dryer more, like one with a bigger family, may need it checked more often than that.
- Can I clean my dryer vent myself?
- You can clean the parts you can reach, but that is usually not the whole vent. Pulling the dryer out and vacuuming the first few feet of duct and the outside hood helps, but most vent runs bend through walls or ceilings where a shop vac and a brush from the hardware store cannot follow. A contractor uses rods and a brush sized to the duct to clear the full length, including the bends.
- What are the signs of a clogged dryer vent?
- Clothes that take more than one cycle to dry, a dryer that runs hot to the touch, and less airflow coming out of the outside vent hood are the main ones. You might also notice a burning smell or more lint than usual around the lint trap door. Any of these means air is not moving through the duct the way it should, and it is worth having the vent checked before it gets worse.